A teen charged with a hate crime in Oak Park told investigators he beat his victim in anger over the shooting death of Trayvon Martin, according to the Cook County state's attorney office.

Alton L. Hayes, 18, of the 1200 block of Woodbine Avenue in Oak Park, was charged with attempted robbery and aggravated battery along with a hate crime, state's attorney spokesman Andy Conklin said Wednesday. A 15-year-old Chicago boy also was charged with attempted robbery in the incident.

Police said the charged teens are black and the victim is white.

Hayes is being held on $80,000 bail, according to the sheriff office's.

Oak Park police Cmdr. LaDon Reynolds said Hayes and the 15-year-old approached a 19-year-old man from behind while walking in the 600 block of North Kenilworth Avenue about 1 a.m. April 17.

Hayes grabbed the victim, pushed him up against a tree and struck him multiple times on the head and shoulder area, Reynolds said. The 15-year-old picked up a tree branch, pointed it at the victim and demanded his belongings before Hayes reached inside the victim's pockets, Reynolds said.

Police found the teens a couple of blocks away after the victim notified police.

"During the course of the investigation, we learned that the crime was related to the victim's race," Reynolds said.

Conklin said Hayes told investigators that he was angry about the Martin shooting and decided to attack the victim because of his race. Reynolds would not comment if the crime had anything to do with the Martin shooting.

Martin, an unarmed black teenager, was shot and killed Feb. 26 in Sanford, Fla., by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who has been charged with second-degree murder. Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother is Hispanic, told police the shooting was in self-defense. The shooting death prompted demonstrations across the country and sparked a debate about racial profiling.